Fears
by Stromboli
Summary: After Lin is born, Toph realizes she's facing fears and doubts she never expected. Tokka ficlet.


_This comes from a prompt I received on tumblr. Enjoy._

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Fears

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In the Air Temple infirmary, Toph stood beside her newborn daughter's cradle. She suspected it must be very late, or very early. The air had the heavy, dewy feeling of night, and the temple was silent. All she could hear was Lin's quiet breathing. Toph ran her hands over the crib's metal frame, feeling the vibrations. Trying to get a glimpse of the child. But with the cushions and the swaddling deadening the reverberation, it was impossible.

In thirty-three years, she had seen war and she had seen suffering. She had seen battle and pain and death. Yet here, in the silent serenity of the temple, she could not even see her own daughter.

Toph Bei Fong, Chief of Police of Republic City, hero of the Hundred Year War, who had faced armies without fear, felt panic rising in her. Terror she had never expected and never known before sought to consume her. Her hands curled around the metal bars of the crib, her heart pounded, and her breath came fast and shallow. A soft, choked sob escaped her. She bit her lip against another, hating the sound and her fear and her weakness.

Behind her, there was a soft scraping as the door slid open. She heard a pair of bare feet pad across the room.

"Toph?" Sokka said quietly. "Are you sure you should be up?"

"M'fine," she mumbled, scrubbing at her eyes. She felt him come to stand at her shoulder. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," he said, his voice dropped to a whisper so not to disturb the sleeping baby. "Boring councilman problems. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she repeated firmly, but her lip trembled. Sokka covered one of her hands with his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"If you say so," he said. He moved to leave, but Toph grabbed his wrist. Sokka looked at her quizzically. "Toph?"

"Sokka, what if I… what if I do this wrong?" she said in a very small voice. "What if I mess up? What if I'm terrible? What if she gets hurt, what if I'm not there? Sokka–" Her hand moved from his wrist to grip the front of his nightshirt. "What if I can't do this alone?"

Sokka pulled her against him in a tight hug. Toph's breathing had become shallow again, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as an anchor against the dizziness and panic. She felt his fingers comb through her tangled hair and he said, "Don't be stupid. You'll be fine. You'll be better than fine, you'll be great. The greatest." He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. His skin felt cool against her damp and fevered cheeks. "And you are not alone. You've never been. You have me, you have all of us."

Toph closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, grateful for the solidity Sokka always brought into her life. The one who always had her back. "Tell me about her," she whispered.

"What?"

"Lin. Tell me about her, please. I… I can't…"

Sokka steered her back to the cradle and took one of her hands in his. "She's your spitting image," he said as he guided Toph's hand to touch the top of the baby's head. "Her hair is black. Her eyes are green." He brought her hand along the baby's face, her fingers trailing across the small nose, soft lips, long eyelashes. "She has a strong chin. She'll be a real heartbreaker someday." Toph chuckled, and Sokka moved her hand to rest on the baby's bare chest. She felt Lin's heart beat, fast and strong. Her belly rose and fell against Toph's hand with every breath. "And she's strong. She's healthy. She's yours, and she's beautiful."

Toph bit her lip. She had cried too much already tonight. She took a deep breath then punched Sokka in the shoulder. "You big sap," she said, grinning. Sokka chuckled, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him.

"C'mon. Get some rest." He led her back to her bed and pulled the covers up around her.

"Thank you," she whispered, so quietly he almost didn't hear her. Sokka smiled and kissed her forehead. By the time the door slid shut behind him, she was already fast asleep.


End file.
